Bonnet



Filed May 2, 1952 C. E.,TH|LL BONNET 2 Sheets-Sheet l INVENTOR.

ZQYECILIA E. THILL MFW.

AGENT Aug. 3, 1954 Fild May 2, 1952 c. E. THILL 2,685,091

BONNET 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR.

QECILIA E. THI LL AGENT Patented Aug. 3, 1954 UNITED STATES ATENT OFFICE3 Claims.

This invention relates to hats and has particular reference to a bonnetor the like for use by infants and small children.

It is well known that infants and children grow rapidly and that theyoutgrow their clothing before it sees much use. There has long been asearch for an adjustable bonnet or hat for children and infants for theeconomy involved.

In addition, it is well known that there has long been a search for anadjustable hat or bonnet for infants and children which has a neat andappealing appearance, and which can be manufactured inexpensively.

No hat or bonnet has yet been devised which meets the needs of thepublic in providing good appearance, cheapness of construction, andadjustability, and in fact, where cheapness of construction is required,appearance is usually sacrificed critically.

It is therefore, one of my principal objects to provide an adjustablebonnet for infants and children which meets the above mentioned needs.

More specifically, it is one of my principal objects to provide a bonnetor hat having adjustability as to size in as inexpensive a manner aspossible, and in a manner which is most efficient from the appearanceand fit standpoint.

Another object is to provide such a bonnet which has an outer shellwhich retains substantially completely its overall appearanceirrespective of which of the many adjusted positions of the hat orbonnet are in use, that is, the over-all appearance or impressioncreated by the hat will remain substantially identical even as the hatsize is adjusted from one extreme to the other.

Another object is to provide such a bonnet or hat which is suitable toeither boys or girls head Wear.

Another object is to provide a bonnet or hat with an outer shell havingmeans to adjust its volume, and an inner shell associated with andcarried within the outer shell and arrangeable within the outer shell ina manner to be adjusted to the size of the outer shell easily andconveniently and whereby the inner shell serves to shape the outer shellto maintain the desired overall impression of the hat or bonnet in anyadjusted position.

Another object is to provide a bonnet or hat of good appearance ingeneral which can be produced in quantity, or under mass productionmethods, for it is well known that there are few, if any, good-looking,production run bonnets made to sell with a pram suit or the like as amatching combination, the common understanding, even among manufacturersbeing that there is a great deal of room for improvement in this line,for people who buy these combination suits and hats usually discard thehat in favor of an expensive hat which has good appearance but doesntnecessarily match the suit.

These and other objects and advantages of my invention will become moreapparent as the description of the invention proceeds.

In the accompanying drawing forming a part of this application:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of the bonnet in unadjusted positionloolnng at the rear of the bonnet.

Fig. 2 is a similar view of the bonnet in one of its large adjustedpositions with the drawstring in untied condition.

Fig. 3 is a view similar to Fig. 2, with the honnet adjusted to a smallsize and the drawstring untied.

Fig. 4 is a vertical sectional view centrally through Fig. 1.

Fig. 5 is a front view of the bonnet shown in Fig. 1.

Fig. 6 is a vertical sectional view centrally through Fig. 3 toillustrate the operation of the adjustment of the bonnet.

The terms hat or bonnet as used herein should be construed to mean ahead covering.

In the drawing the reference numeral l indicates the outer shell of mybonnet which may be of any suitable material and is preferably arectangular strip for simplicity of cutting and layout and for efiicientuse of material. The numeral 2 indicates the major portion of the innershell of the bonnet which is of the same shape as the outer shell I andmay be of any desired material, either the same as the outer shell, or,if desired, some soft, or heavy, or light weight lining material. Theinner shell is preferably just slightly smaller than the outer shell tofit thereinto.

The outer shell I and the lining or inner shell 2 are sewn or stitchedtogether along one longituolinal edge 3 and 4 respectively and alongboth of their opposed shorter sides 5-5 and 66 respectively, the partsbeing preferably stitched to gether with the wrong side of the materialoutermost so that they can be turned inside out to hide the cut edges ofthe material.

The remaining longitudinal edge or rear margin of the outer shell I isturned back upon itself as at l and stitched to itself as at 8 to form aseam to receive and carry the draw-string 9.

A somewhat inverted U-shaped end or back member I is provided and sewnalong a major portion of its periphery to the remaining longitudinaledge of the inner shelf. The shell memhers I and 2 are drawn or formedinto an inverted U-shape, as shown in Fig. 5, by the end member ID toreceive the head of a child in a most comfortable manner.

The end member Is preferably comprises a piece of the same material A asthe outer shell is made of andmay include a similarly shaped iece of thematerial B of which 'the inner shell is made, if desired. The end memberis stitched to the rear edges of the inner shell in a manner to presentthe best appearance of course. It is preferred that the end member Illbe slightly larger in size than the opening formed or surrounded by theseam 1 whereby all of the material exposed to view will be the same asthe outer shell irrespective of the size to which the hat is adjusted.

,A suitable ribbon I l-H may be secured to each of the corners vl.-2-! 2of the shell members opposite the end member to tie the bonnet in placeon :the childs head, and when the draw string 9 is pulled to gather therear edge and seam 1 of the outershell snugly to the contour-of thechilds .head, the bonnet fits the childs head in a-manner whichis-comfortable and secure, yet not too tight nor too loose to permitdrafts to circulate around-its head.

It is deemed that the drawings clearly illustrate the construction :andoperation of the adjustment feature wherein the inner shell is foldedbehind or around the rear face of the end memher when the bonnet size isreduced, and the iolded portion 13 of the inner :shell serves to fillout the bonnet to retain the original, somewhat square-corner around therear portion of the bonnet. In other Words, the fullness of the bonnetis retained and the same impression is retained in ,the bonnetirrespective of the adjusted size of the bonnet. The bonnet does nothave an adjustable look, or, in other words, the bonnet appears at alltimes to have been manufactured to the exact size to which-it isadjusted.

In .the drawings I have shown a trim strip or decoration M on the hat orbonnet to add character thereto, that is, to differentiate a girls hatfrom a boys ,hat and to improve the appearance of same. The bonnet hereshown is for a girl, and the decoration or trim comprises a rectangularstripof material, preferably the same material as the outer shell,folded in half longitudinally and'w-ith the longitudinal edges of thestrip sewn together with suitable pleats l therein. The strip is may besewn in place on the hat intermediate the inner and outer shellssimultaneously with the sewing of the shells together, of course.

Also it is deemed apparent that a suitable peak, not shown, may besubstituted for the decoration or trim strip I l to make the bonnetsuitable for wear by boys.

The above described bonnet is provided for cool or cold weather use, andit should be here pointed out that a summer bonnet could be made from myabove described structure by omitting the inner shell entirely andemploying only the outer shell I, the ties H, seam I, and draw string 9with suitable trim, such as that shown at M.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim is:

l. A bonnet comprising a pair of shell members of similar substantiallyrectangular shape, said members being stitched together along onelongitudinal edge and both transverse edges, one of .said members beingan inner shell and the other an outer shell, a seam formed along theremaining longitudinal edge of said outer shell, a drawstring carried insaid seam, an end member having a major portion of its periphery securedto similar shape as said inner shell, said shells being secured togetheron one longitudinal and on both transverse edges thereof leavingcorresponding longitudinal edges of said shells unconnested, an endmember having a major portion of its periphery secured to saidunconnected edge of said inner shell, said end member being of a shapeto form said shells into ashape .to receive ones head, a hem in saidunconnected edge of said outer shell, and a drawstring-carried by saidhem to adjust the head size of said bonnet, said inner shell beingfoldable within said outer shell and around the periphery of saidendmember to adjust the head size of the inner shell to that of the outershell.

3. A bonnet comprising an inner shell and an outer shell, each of said:shells having a corresponding rear longitudinal edge, said shells beingsecured together along other corresponding edges leaving at least saidrear edges not connected to each other over substantially their entirelength, an end member having .a major portion of its periphery securedto said rear edge of said inner shell and causing same to assume a shapeadapted to receive ones head, a hem along said rear edge or" said outershell, and a draw string in said hem "for adjusting the size to whichsaid inner shell can be contracted within said outer shell.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS

